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Why was Pharaoh so enraged that he wanted to kill, crucify, and burn Moshe? Rashi (רש"י) says "I made you Elohim to Pharaoh"—judge and punisher. The shiur develops that Moshe was not merely God's messenger but a principal actor in the first seven plagues, judging and sentencing Pharaoh himself. This explains Pharaoh's fury at "Ben Amram"—the mortal judging him—and why the later plagues (Choshech, Bechoros) required a new preamble: there God acted directly.
This shiur explores a profound Midrash on Parshas Vaeira that fundamentally reframes our understanding of Moshe's role in the Ten Plagues. The Midrash states that Pharaoh, compared to a tanin (sea serpent or snake), threatened Moshe upon his departure: "When Ben Amram returns, I will kill him, crucify him, and burn him." Yet when Moshe actually appeared before Pharaoh, Pharaoh became like a mateh (stick)—silent, immobilized, helpless. Rabbi Zweig asks: Why this specific three-fold threat, and what does the transformation into a stick signify? The shiur begins by unpacking the symbolism of the tanin. A tanin/snake possesses three powers corresponding to Pharaoh's three threats: the power to kill (hergo), the power to constrict/immobilize (tzov/crucify), and the power to burn through poison (sorfo). The transformation into a mateh (stick) is thus middah keneged middah—a stick represents something dead, immobilized, and suitable for burning as firewood. Pharaoh's intended treatment of Moshe became his own fate.
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Why does the Midrash connect Pharaoh's expulsion of the Jews to the mitzvah of shiluach hakan? The shiur develops a chiddush that Pharaoh's sin wasn't only drowning the children, but the insensitivity of expelling the parents afterward. The deeper analysis reveals that Pharaoh may have valued the Jews greatly and wanted to control them—making his expulsion an act of tremendous cruelty, not liberation.
Why does Moshe respond to the splitting of the sea with shirah rather than praise or thanksgiving? Rashi's use of "al libo" reveals that shirah is an emotional expression—a response of love to love. When Hashem shows personal care, the only adequate response is "I love You too," not mere gratitude or praise, and this principle applies to all relationships.
Shemos 7:1, Parshas Vaeira
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